Automatic
by Foxwells
Summary: Building Q, 2018. 9 children are playing the Nonary Game as part of Cradle Pharmaceutical's experiment. They're almost to the final door, but Nagisa isn't sure how much more he can take of just watching this.


**AUTHOR'S NOTES:**

_I should probably update this account. IDK what to put for the genre._

_Insp was me wondering what in the heck even happened at Q. I wrote this from Nagisa's perspective, but we get some Kagechika as well._

_Contains headcanons you might not like._

* * *

><p>The room that Nagisa stood in had come into silence. He stood in front of a set of monitors, one hand clasping his chin and lower lip while the other held the elbow of the former. His eyes remained focused on a set of a few in the corner. There, a few showed the outside of what looked as though it was a circular room- A couple others showed the inside. It was hollow and cruel just by looking at it. He'd never particularly liked this part of the Nonary Project. It seemed to be pushing things too far for his comfort, but Gentarou had assured everything would run fine.<p>

He bit a nail. He couldn't fathom how Gentarou was so sure of that. The door labeled with a third nine… Just why was that so? Steps had been put in place so that, of course, everyone would be able to escape. An incineration command would threaten to take place. He had a set of controls that could stop or end it whenever the group reached that point in the project. But… for when the children who would leave the door, when their bracelets were turned off, he was instructed to start the process. The thought of that made them tense. The incinerator was far from being faked. They'd tested the damned thing several times (and he recounted uncomfortably a strange look in Gentarou's eyes when the flames filled the room), and it wasn't about to break now. But, that was a severe risk to the children's lives.

They'd told a lie here and there when giving instructions. They being Nagisa and his apparent partner-in-crime, Kagechika, who seemed more invested in the cigar in his mouth than the events taking place on the screens. Nagisa let his eyes move from the man and back to the monitors. They'd lied about a few things. They certainly hadn't _actually_ set bombs in the children's beings. It'd been an idea, but he and Teruaki had managed to convince Gentarou against it.

His mind drifted to Teruaki. He was more than grateful that he'd gotten their help in arguing against that. Neither had been very sure if Gentarou was entirely serious about the idea- The CEO had given in a bit too easily to the pair's demand, but it was better than arguing alone. The four had agreed to simply say that the children were given bombs.

_Children._ They bit harder on the nail. It snapped. The oldest was perhaps 15. Most of these _children_ were in middle school if not elementary. None of the Nonary Project had ever sat right with them. This was overly illegal, inhumane, unethical, immoral, and just wrong. A process was already in motion to make sure that no word would get out about this, but that didn't change anything. It almost made things worse, it felt like at times. Part of him wanted people to find out, to stop this, to get Gentarou out of a position where they could do this, but-

But he'd said nothing. He'd considered talking more than a few times, but he hadn't. Some sort of selfish fear of what would happen to him had overcome him when he considered it, and he never spoke. And now it was too late. His eyes moved to some other monitors, showing a place that almost seemed like it'd be used for marriages. There stood 9 children, talking and looking at two doors on either end, ones that both read a nine. 45 minutes remained before 9 hours had passed since they'd first woken up.

_The digital root of 45 is 9… Get this number away from me._ Nagisa closed his eyes and let himself take a long breath. Those children were going to have to face that incinerator. When the incineration process began, a computer would come from the ground, presenting a sudoku puzzle. It had to be solved to shut off the command. They could then escape, as the RED would activate again after being shut off by the DEAD's use. He wondered what would happen if those children couldn't solve it. They tried to ignore the obvious, coming up with some fake theories before a cold truth washed over them. The incineration would take place, and those children would-

The oldest child was about 15. Nagisa thought about Teruaki again. They were a genius, and he meant that literally. They were extremely exception in math and sciences, but overall, their intelligence was far from low. They'd already cleared through college at a young age. The oldest child was 15. Teruaki was, what, 17? The hand propping his arm tensed. That thought sent a coldness through him. If Teruaki had shown any kind of significant morphogenetic resonance, they could as well have been a subject of the project.

Nagisa turned away from the monitors and sat with a long sigh, closing their eyes.

"Bored?"

He didn't open his eyes at Kagechika's question. He just sat in silence for a few moments more, before finally answering, "No, not bored… Nervous, you could call it."

The older man laughed, oblivious to what was running through Nagisa's mind. "That so? I must say, these kids are very smart! I figured a few of them would be left behind by now, but no- We certainly found the pick of the litter."

Nagisa didn't need to open his eyes to know that Kagechika would be looking at the screens with gleaming eyes. Of course he didn't see a very big problem with any of this. Nagisa had heard rumours that Kagechika was involved with the precedents to this project, something called "Gordian's Games". He'd never looked much into it. Gentarou had mentioned it at some point or another, how they'd convinced the runners of it to sell the Gigantic. Nagisa half-wished he'd listened to the rest of whatever had been said, but too late now, he supposed. Well, it was either that rumour was true, or Kagechika was just the bastard he always seemed to be.

"Oh, relax," the older man said before holding out his box of cigars. "Here, take one."

Nagisa opened his eyes finally and looked over. He waved his hand. "No thank you," he said before staring at the ground. "I'll be fine when this is over." When those kids got out, all of them, perfectly safe and unharmed and not in some pile of ashes on the floor of a fucking incinerator-

He ran a hand through his hair. He needed music or Kagechika's blabbering or something interesting on the monitors or… or something to take his mind off of this. It was too late now. Those children were going to solve the puzzle and leave. He had to stop thinking they wouldn't.

And so he did just that- He talked back and forth with Kagechika, skirting just barely around present happenings or the steel chamber awaiting the _children_. It passed time, and Nagisa finally found himself beginning to relax. He could breathe and get a face besides anxious.

All that came crashing down some time later when Kagechika announced, "Oh, I think they're heading into the incinerator finally. I don't understand why that first group waited for the others, but now the finale is finally coming!"

Nagisa's head shot up. He gripped the chair he was in as that cold, unforgiving door opened, letting the children have access inside. Every part of him was suddenly screaming for him to do something to stop this rotten thing, to let them out and to have them run up the stairs. In little groups, the children entered, looking around with curious and terrified eyes. Only five at most would pass through that door at first. The four would soon follow- They _had_ to follow. It wasn't an option. They were going to be fine, they were going to be fine, they were going to be fine…

"Are you all right?" Kagechika asked, looking to Nagisa.

He forced a nod. "Fine, just… Let's see what happens- We put something up so we could hear them, right? Where is that?"

There was a moment of silence where they met eyes, but Kagechika game in after a bit and got up, coming to the control panels. He eyed over it for a bit before pressing a couple buttons. After a moment, talking filled the room. They were the words the children spoke.

"I thought if we cross through the 9 door, we'll be out!"

"We need to pick five people to go and check stuff out."

"No way, then four are left behind!"

"There's no other way out- That meanie Zero was just messing with us!"

Panic began to swarm Nagisa as if he was actually there, among the arguing children. This was bad. This was a _horrible_ idea- What if they couldn't decide on anything? What if they tried to leave and didn't get out in time? Surely Nagisa wasn't expected to actually… actually…

"Let's try searching the area and meeting outside this place. We'll only take ten minutes."

It was a single voice that everyone seemed to agree with. The girl who'd spoken was young, holding herself a bit and looking around with wide eyes. So, the ground split to a set of four and five. The first group were the numbers 2, 4, 5, and 7. That left 1, 3, 6, 8, and 9 to pair with one another. Nagisa thought about those numbers. Both of the digital roots created 9… Why? Why had those children done that? The most effective way would be to pair with those whose roots couldn't open the door. But then again, they'd freely formed. Those four had gathered almost instantly together. Through the game, they'd become a close pack, it seemed.

Kagechika let out a laugh. Nagisa tried to ignore it, watching as the groups left and began to walk around the area. They talked quietly and grew out of the reach of what the microphones available could pick up on. Rather, Nagisa let his eyes wander to the area around the incinerator, where the 9 children explored what surrounded it. For about five minutes or so, that's all they did. They wandered.

Except after those five minutes, the group of four suddenly began to tiptoe around. Carefully, they made their way back to the incinerator and walked inside. One hesitated, and looked back. Something startled them and then ran in, shouting, "Hurry!"

Quickly, the four scanned their bracelets and yanked down on the lever. The door opened, and the other five poured into the incinerator. They started to pursue, but the four bolted past and through the large door. A couple of seconds later, and it shut, leaving the five just mere feet from the formerly open door.

And then Kagechika laughed again, saying, "I knew those four were up to no good! Looks like the fun has really begun!"

Neither moved for a bit, watching as the five children began to panic. Listening to those terrified and enraged words. And then, as though a puppeteer was controlling him by strings, Nagisa rose and came to the control panel. On another monitor, the four children had pressed their hands to the DEAD, and pulled down the level. Nagisa pushed a button. The incinerator was bathed in an ugly red light, and a siren pulled from nightmares hit his ears.

"Warning," spoke a voice. "Warning. Emergency incineration command has been acknowledged. Automatic incineration will take place in… 18 minutes. Please evacuate the incinerator immediately."

The words shut off, and so did Nagisa's mind. He was blank as he went back to his seat and sat down, looking at the monitors. He heard the children cry out in fear, look around and panic as they tried to find out how to escape. The noises just went out the other ear. He watched them try to verify and open the door over and over, but to have the RED take nothing. The sights didn't stick as memories. He reached a state of emptiness, where not even a merry shove from Kagechika could move him from his zombied state.

"... 17 minutes.

"... 16 minutes.

"... 15 minutes.

"... 14 minutes.

"... 13 minutes.

"... 12 minutes.

"... 11 minutes.

"... 10 minutes.

"... 9 minutes."

"I can't figure this out!"

The voice was sharp and piercing. The blue-haired child backed away from the computer in the centre of the incinerator, tears threatening her eyes. Another child stepped in and got to work while the blue one broke down into crying. Another one comforted her while someone assisted the one who was working on the sudoku puzzle. The fifth remained quiet and to the side, keeping from anyone's way.

Nagisa's vision hazed. He felt sick watching this. This wasn't science; this was just abuse! This was something for the cruel and cold, for the kind who were the true evil of the world. He wasn't that- He didn't want to _be_ that, he didn't endorse that, he wanted to stop that, he wanted to stop this, he wanted to go home, he wanted to let those kids out and tell them it would be okay, he wanted for this to never have happened, he wanted…

He resumed stuffing cotton into his mind.

"... 8 minutes.

"... 7 minutes.

"... 6 minutes.

"... 5 minutes.

"... 4 minutes.

"... 3 minutes.

"... 2 minutes."

"I can't take this anymore." Nagisa stood up. "I can't- They're going to _die,_ Kagechika!" He looked to his partner. "They can't figure out the puzzle. They're no where near completion, and there's only two minutes left- _They're going to die!_"

Kagechika looked in surprise to Nagisa. "Do you really think so?"

He turned around. "Just _look,_ Kagechika! There's no way to solve that in two minutes. I don't care about the fields or anything. That's not going to stop time. That won't magically solve this. This is supposed to be the group to send things, anyways!" His hands had clenched at that point, and he was staring desperately at the monitors, silently pleading for them to just figure it out already. It wasn't impossible, they just needed time. Something they didn't have.

"Now, sit down, Nagisa," Kagechika ordered, giving the other the first truly serious look of the day. It was ignored. "I said _sit down,_ Nagisa."

Nagisa bit down on his lip, frozen where he was. The two remained in a standoff for a little bit, before he finally answered, "No."

Kagechika started to rise. "They'll be fine. Just relax."

"... 1 minute."

"We're going to die."

"They're not going to be fine!" And with that, Nagisa shot forward, slamming his hand down onto the button to stop the incineration command. The red light began to slowly fizzle away.

"Emergency incineration command has been cancelled. Incineration system has been disabled."

Immediately, confused but not protesting voices began to fill the room. Nagisa stood by the control board, his hand on the button the only steady part of his shaking body. On the monitor, the computer had shut off and was collapsing into the ground. The children had all gathered together in a group, looking around as if they thought it was a lie. And then, one of them noticed something.

"The RED! Look! The light is back on!"

They all ran toward it, and began to scan their numbers.

Slowly, Nagisa peeled away, and walked back to his seat. He walked as though he'd just been running for a long time, and sat down heavily. He looked at the ceiling, mumbling, "Oh thank God," as the sound of the 9th door opening could be heard.

"And… what exactly was that?"

Nagisa let himself look down, facing Kagechika. He took a look that showed he wasn't afraid of his decision, and said, "We aren't going to kill children, Kagechika. This whole thing isn't right, but that's one line I refuse to cross."

Kagechika's lips pressed to a thin line. "Very well."

The two grew quiet, and Nagisa looked back at the ceiling. So he did something that was against the plan… He didn't care. He wasn't going to let five lives be put to his name if he could stop it. Especially not children of all ages.

A minute of eternity flew by, before Nagisa said, "We'll need to go out and meet them. Right now they're yelling at the other four, but we'll need to get them out of this desert." That was covered in the plan as well. Nagisa let his eyes move to the screen. He wondered why those four had stayed. Maybe it was making up for when they'd been waited on. Maybe it was because they were trying to find a way for help. He didn't really know.

For now, Nagisa got up, coming across the room and picking up a phone that lay there. He dialed in a number quickly and listened to it ring.

"H… Hello?" came a shaken voice after a while of wait.

Nagisa's eyebrows raised. "Gentarou not there, Teruaki?"

"I- W-Well, um, about… about that, um, n-no. No. No, that's-"

"What's going on?" A bit of a rising concern came to Nagisa. Teruaki stuttered and fumbled with words. That was a universal fact. But there was a certain tone to their voice to that wasn't right.

"That is- There- There was this d-detective, and…"

The explanation took a bit. Not that Nagisa was surprised, but by the end of Teruaki talking something about how the kids were now running up the stairs, he had one word of advice.

"Get Gentarou to you _now._ Them pissed doesn't go to good places."

"Nagisa, the children are almost to the top of the stairs," Kagechika called.

It was with hard reluctance that Nagisa said, "I have to go. I called because we finished. Just… Do what you can." And he hung up.

The two began to leave, and Nagisa briefed Kagechika on what he was told.

"The party at the Gigantic was crashed by some detective. There were five kids left, and this guy broke through a vent or something and pulled them out. Gentarou stormed off saying they were going to do something about it and is apparently making way to the incinerator. I don't know what they plan to do, though. Apparently, the kids are already scrambling up the stairs."

"At least both sides are equal in interference, then," his partner remarked bitterly.

Nagisa sighed. "Shut your mouth, Kagechika." The door began to open. "At least I actually saved people over being on a warpath."


End file.
